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CRUSADE is a women's
development programme covering 100 villages just north of Chennai in Tamil
Nadu. Over the years, 8000 women have joined self-help
(micro-credit) groups, begun savings schemes and participated in training
on health, literacy, self-employment and local
democracy.
Jothi Ramalingam founded CRUSADE (Centre for Rural Systems and Development) in 1991 to work with poor and marginalized women in his native area, Minjur, about 40 km north of Chennai. Later CRUSADE started working in neighbouring Sholavaram. It now works with a total population of about 200,000, one third of whom are from marginalized dalit communities. Vision and Mission
Strategy
Once a new group has stabilised, CRUSADE trains its members in group management and begins to link the group to its other activities, credit for income generation, housing, literacy, health awareness, sanitation and local democracy. The SHGs are federated at panchayat and project level, the federation has now been registered at a seperate trust - the PPI. This will support the groups and manage their communal funds. CRUSADE's role will be to organise training and new initiatives to improve the members lives. This will promote the sastainability of CRUSADE's programme. From 2009, CRUSADE is working with those to poor to have joined the SHG's. Staff
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